LONGMONT -- Cruising on Main Street. It's an activity that hearkens back to a less-complicated time.

It triggers memories of those high school years, when Friday and Saturday nights were spent driving the family sedan or your own half-restored and partially souped-up car back and forth on Main Street, with the eventual pause for something yummy at the local drive-in.

It was a chance to show off your car, or maybe just that you were old enough to have a driver's license. Boys vied to meet and impress the girls; girls piled into cars to drive, flirt with the boys and just be seen.

In small towns across America, if there wasn't a football or basketball game to attend and fill the time, there was always cruising.

Hollywood has glorified cruising. Think about "American Graffiti," with its focus on the soul searching done by teens during one night of cruising and listening to rock 'n' roll. The T-Birds and Pink Ladies in "Grease" lived by an entire code of conduct that was intertwined with cruising. And on the small screen, "Happy Days" linked the cool factor to cruising through its main character Fonzie, who generally had a solution to every problem. Later, "That '70s Show" opened with its characters seemingly cruising the evening away in Wisconsin.

And in Longmont, cruising Main Street and other areas of the city happened on a regular basis for many years. But today you'll see "No Cruising" signs prominently placed near speed signs in many areas of town.

"Longmont used to be a happening place for cruising," said Terry Campbell of Longmont, who is a member of the ColoRODans car club in Longmont. "It was even rated nationally for cruising. People would come up from Denver and down from Fort Collins and Greeley and all around to cruise in Longmont."

Cruising to 'No Cruising'

The interest in cars and cruising prompted the formation of the ColoRODans, which was established in 1968. The group is a member of the National Street Rod Association, the Good Guys Rod and Custom Association, the Specialty Equipment Manufacturing Association and the Collector Car Council of Colorado.

The car culture became so much a part of Longmont that Aug. 7-9, 1987, were officially proclaimed "Street Rodder Days" in Longmont by then-Mayor Larry Burkhardt.

But as the years passed, city officials noticed a change occurring in the cruising culture. In the mid-1990s to early 2000s, police began to identify some problems stemming from nightly cruising, so city officials decided to step in.

A June 2006 letter to the editor of the Longmont Times-Call written by six Longmont police officers, including Chief Mike Butler, cited issues such as "assaults, vandalism, gang violence, urinating in public and on private property, littering, car crashes, loud stereos and mufflers, and significant traffic congestion."

In addition, police said the cruising incidents were costing the city money for police overtime and diminishing the capacity of officers to deal with other issues.

Police had tried several steps, including working with the cruisers to reduce the problems, increasing patrols and channeling traffic in some areas into one lane, but those efforts had only short-term effects. So in 2006, the Longmont City Council passed an ordinance effectively banning cruising by giving police officers authority to ticket drivers who pass by certain areas multiple times if they don't have a "legitimate" agenda. Drivers found guilty pay a $125 fine. A second offense costs $250; third and subsequent offenses cost $350.

And the "No Cruising" signs went up.

Fun with cars

Today, official cruising in Longmont happens only twice a year -- and each time it is permitted by the city and sponsored by the ColoRODans. The group sticks by its motto: "Fun With Cars since 1968."

"We are a group of men and women who have invested lots of time and money into restoring classic cars and street rods," explained club President Bill Stone of Longmont. "This is a family-oriented club with members who love restoring and driving cars."

ColoRODans member Mike Wells of Longmont owns a 1932 Ford hot rod. He estimates that he's sunk $30,000 plus into his car over the years.

"We're not the drag racers and troublemakers who cruise in other cities that you sometimes read about in the Denver newspaper," he said. "This is far too expensive a hobby for that."

Paradegoers in Longmont have most likely seen club members driving their restored cars and their signature bathtub on wheels, which these days probably needs a little work on the brakes and maybe the front end, club members say.

The ColoRODans also have sponsored the Longmont Rod Festival since 1970. This summer's event, scheduled for July 27-29, will be the club's 42nd festival. It will feature a concert on Friday night, a Main Street cruise for Rod Festival participants on Saturday evening, and judging and a show-and-shine event Sunday in Roosevelt Park where muscle cars, street rods, classic cars and custom cars will take center stage.

Last year, the Longmont Rod Festival featured 400 cars, drew 3,000 people and raised more than $4,000 for charity, board chairman Terry Campbell said. The Broncos Cheerleaders also participate in the festival to help bring in donations for charity.

"Over the years, we've given to Mountain States Children's Home, Meals on Wheels, Tiny Tim Center, the OUR Center and the school district," Campbell said.

This year's festival theme is "Save the Salt," a reference to an ongoing effort by car clubs and environmentalists to save the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. The flats, which are used for land speed racing and filmmaking, are being reduced by potash mining. The festival also will raise money for local charities.

To promote the Longmont Rod Fest, the ColoRODans are planning to host a Longmont cruise on Main Street in May. This year the cruise will be held from 6 to 11 p.m. May 12.

"We use this as a way to attract and register participants for the Rod Fest," Campbell said.

Members of the ColoRODans Car Club also take part in Rocky Mountain area Rod Runs held under the umbrella of the National Street Rod Association. Those events, which include the Longmont Rod Festival, can "keep you busy every weekend," Campbell said. "We get our families to go with us and we sometimes attend as a club."

A family enterprise

Restoring an old car can be a family enterprise. Hugh McCreery and his daughter Cidny are working to get his 1969 Camaro, and maybe her 1966 Chevy Nova, ready for the summer Longmont Rod Festival. Software engineer Hugh finds the work relaxing, while Cidny likes the father-daughter bonding that occurs.

Cidny, a Silver Creek High School graduate, went to Montana with her father to get her car when she was in seventh grade. Working and learning with her dad on his Camaro and her Nova inspired her at age 19 to become the first female member of the ColoRODans.

"I think she was more interested in joining the group than I was," Hugh said. "But it's been great. We have stayed close through our work on the cars."

Robert Bennett, a retired United Airlines pilot, visited Longmont during the Rod Festival and knew that he wanted to live here. He drives his restored 1930 Ford Model A Coupe in the local parades and always gets comments and questions from bystanders.

Hugh McCreery gets questions too, but they're from his wife.

"She asks me when I'm going to be finished with the car," he said. "I just tell her that I bought a car to work on, and not to finish."

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